Unks holding court with one summer’s stu- dents in the Wynter Room of Swedenborg Hall, London.

Crook’s CornerA Chapel Hill Tradition &An American Classic

Recipient of a 2011 James Beard Foundation’sAmerican Classic’s AwardTimeless appeal, beloved for quality foodthat reflects the character of the community,welcomes their customers with open armsand, of course, delicious food that celebratesauthentic American flavors.Serving Inside or on the Patio, Tue-Sun

Brushes with celebrity were not uncommon in London. Princess Di showed up
one day in their classroom building, allowing a demure nod in their direction; Frank
Sinatra surfaced at the Savoy Hotel —
where, like two of Unks’ students, he was
turned away for tea because he lacked the
proper attire. One fortunate student got
invited to a dinner party hosted by Prince
William at St. Andrews and was seated next
to the future king, prompting the rest of the
UNC group — including Unks himself —
to huddle around her upon her return to
the hotel, pelting her with questions like a
pack of tabloid-reading school girls.

But Unks’ favorite memories are those
that crystallized once London was in the
rearview mirror. Students who spent a
month walking through Muslim neighborhoods or other communities “where people don’t look like they do in Burgaw”
and who learned to jump elegantly from a
question about why British bobbies don’t
carry guns to a discussion of capital punishment, found themselves under the spell of
their own educations upon their return to
North Carolina.

“I noticed something happened to thekids when they were abroad,” said Unks,who originally planned to run the Londonprogram for only four years. “They seemedto broaden themselves, and deepen them-selves, and do a lot of the things that Ithought of a college education doing. And Igot a kick out of this change, this magnifi-cent change. Kids who were making reallypoor grades at Carolina went over there, gotturned on to something, and began makinggood grades when they came back.”Unks still slips into the present tensewhen speaking about the program; after 36years, the habit is difficult to resist. He mayno longer pine for the logistics of London— indeed, he may never want to see thepassport of a 20-year-old again — butclearly the 2,424 companions who traveledwith him across four decades gave as muchto Unks as he gave to them.